Ferguson's father, Bill Ferguson, said he's confident that the judges will release his son, who has served more than nine years in prison for the death of Kent Heitholt.

"He should be freed because he's innocent," Bill Ferguson said. "He's innocent because there's no evidence to convict him of the crime. There are no witnesses to put him at the crime. There's nothing, not one scintilla of evidence, to put him at the crime."

Heitholt was the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune. On Halloween night in 2001, he was robbed, beaten and strangled in the newspaper's parking lot.

Two years later, Chuck Erickson told police that he was in on the killing and he implicated Ryan Ferguson, who was his friend. Erickson said the men sneaked into a nearby bar and committed the crime for drinking money.

Erickson has since recanted his confession, saying he blacked out on the night of the killing. He said he was coerced by then-Boone County Prosecutor Kevin Crane, who is now a judge. A janitor who testified that he saw Ryan Ferguson at the scene has also recanted.

None of the physical evidence in the case tied Ryan Ferguson to it, either.

Bill Ferguson said he thought Tuesday's hearing went well.

"The judges came in prepared, they asked good questions and the attorney general was not prepared to give good valid answers," he said.

The judges also heard about so-called Brady violations, where the prosecution doesn't give information to the defense. The appeals court judges played up those concerns, but the prosecution played them down.

"I guess you could look at the evidence in different ways and Mr Ferguson wants to see it in one way and draw certain insinuations," said Assistant Attorney General Shawn Mackelprang.

"The guy was like a chicken running around in a hail storm trying to dodge the hail, and the hail was in the form of Brady violations," Bill Ferguson said.

The movement to free Ryan Ferguson has gained steam, with more than 54,000 followers on Facebook, national television exposure on the major networks, and Bill Ferguson's latest effort, a Midwest tour to spread the word about what's happened to his son.

Tuesday's arguments took about an hour. A decision may not come for several weeks.

MAN IS REFUSING TO COME OUT. WE'LL BRING YOU ANY NEW DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY HAPPEN. A CASE THAT'S GETTING NATIONAL ATTENTION IS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE IN KANSAS CITY TONIGHT. IT WAS A HEARING BEFORE THE MISSOURI COURT OF APPEALS... FOR 28-YEAR OLD RYAN FERGUSON, CONVICTED OF MURDER NINE YEARS AGO. PEGGY BREIT WAS IN THE COURTROOM. PEGGY... THERE WAS A LIVELY INTERCHANGE IN THE COURTROOM HERE BETWEEN THE THREE APPELLATE JUDGES, FERGUSON'S LAWYER, AND THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR MISSOURI. AT THE END OF IT ALL, THE PEOPLE IN FERGUSON'S CAMP CAME AWAY FEELING THEY WERE THE CLEAR WINNER. THE JUDGES CAME IN PREPARED, THEY ASKED GOOD QUESTIONS AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WAS NOT PREPARED TO GIVE GOOD VALID ANSWERS. THE QUESTIONS CAME AT THE LAWYERS RIGHT FROM THE START ... WITH THE JUDGES SHOWING A COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CASE. HIS EXACT WORDS WERE TO THE EFFECT THAT MR TRUMP TOLD US HE COULD IDENTIFY MR FERGUSON AND MR ERICKSON, AND HE CHARACTERIZED IT AS AN EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENT. SHE'S TALKING ABOUT EVIDENCE CRITICAL TO FERGUSON'S CONVICTION... ...IN THE MURDER OF COLUMBIA SPORTS EDITOR KENT HEITHOLT, HALLOWEEN NIGHT, 2001. HEITHOLT WAS FOUND DEAD IN THE NEWSPAPER'S PARKING LOT. THERE WAS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE, INCLUDING HAIR, FOOTPRINTS AND A SHOE PRINT... AND NONE WAS TIED TO RYAN FERGUSON. BUT FERGUSON'S FRIEND CHUCK ERICKSON TESTIFIED THEY WERE BOTH IN ON IT. ERICKSON HAS SINCE RECANTED. AND A JANITOR FROM THE PAPER SAYS HE SAW FERGUSON AT THE SCENE. HE HAS RECANTED AS WELL. THE JUDGES HEARD TODAY ABOUT MANY INSTANCES OF SO- CALLED BRADY VIOLATIONS-- WHEN THE PROSECUTION DOESN'T GIVE INFORMATION TO THE DEFENSE. THE JUDGES PLAYED THEM UP, THE PROSECUTION PLAYED THEM DOWN. I GUESS YOU COULD LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND MR FERGUSON WANTS TO SEE IT IN ONE WAY AND DRAW CERTAIN INSINUATIONS. THE GUY WAS LIKE A CHICKEN RUNNING AROUND IN A HAIL STORM TRYING TO DODGE THE HAIL, AND THE HAIL WAS IN THE FORM OF BRADY VIOLATIONS. BILL FERGUSON SAYS HE THINKS THE JUDGES WILL RULE IN HIS SON'S FAVOR, WHETHER FOR BRADY VIOLATIONS OR FOR OUTRIGHT INNOCENCE. THE RULING IS EXPECTED WITHIN A COUPLE MONTHS. LIVE DOWNTOWN, PB, KMBC 9 NEWS. BILL FERGUSON SAYS NO MATTER HOW THE JUDGES RULE, HE EXPECTS AN APPEAL TO THE STATE SUPREME COURT. BUT IT IF GOES